Adding -s and -es

To show more than one, we usually add -s to a noun: one cat, two cats; one book, three books.

If a word ends in s, x, ch or sh, we add -es instead, so it is easier to say: bus, buses; box, boxes; bench, benches; dish, dishes. Say the word: if you hear an extra sound at the end, it probably needs -es.

A few words change in a special way, like one child and two children, or one mouse and two mice. Learn those ones by heart.